Gammick had wanted the letter --
written last September by then-Sparks City Attorney
Steven Elliott -- kept secret.
Indeed, after current acting Sparks City
Attorney Chet Adams released a redacted version of the
letter April 19 to political activists Guy Felton and Sam
Dehne -- who placed the document on the World Wide Web --
Gammick announced Adams' action would be reviewed
"for possible prosecution."
But Thursday, the same day that Gammick
announced that he was asking Attorney General Frankie Sue
Del Papa to conduct the prosecution review, District
Judge Steven R. Kosach, at the request of the Washoe
County Grand Jury, represented by a new fore-person, was
approving release to the public of the entire,
unredacted, letter, plus all five of its attachments.
Eighteen allegations were itemized in
Elliott's September 13 letter. The charges included false
reports by the Airport Authority to state agencies,
dubious Authority gratuities for politicians and
regulators, personal recreational outings paid for by the
authority for airport director Robert White and selected
board members, unfair business practices, and asserted
sweetheart arrangements for contractors.
Also released were several other documents
submitted by Elliott at the same time and a response to
Elliott signed by the then-foreman of the jury, James
Hanson.
In a letter sent September 26, less than two
weeks after receipt of the litany of charges in the
Sparks City Attorney's list, Hansen said that
"[a]fter reviewing the entire matter, we were unable
to find any allegations that we
|
believe are criminal,
at least based on the information that was
furnished."
In a letter that evidenced no understanding of
the American grand jury's historical investigatory role
in the judicial process, Hanson counseled Elliott that
"if there is further information available as to any
of these allegations which would indicate criminal
conduct, we recommend that it be submitted to Captain
Ernest Jesch of the Washoe County Sheriff's
Department," said Hanson.
"The Sheriff's Department has agreed to
investigate any criminal allegations and to submit those
investigations to the Washoe County District Attorney's
Office for evaluation."
Hanson concluded the letter similarly:
"If you have any further questions or comments,
please do not hesitate to contact me, either through
Judge [Mills] Lane or District Attorney Gammick."
Efforts by Electric Nevada to reach
Hanson Saturday were unsuccessful. All three James
Hansons listed in the Reno telephone book denied being
the former foreman of the grand jury.
Efforts to reach the current acting
fore-person of the grand jury, Aurora Cortez, were
similarly unsuccessful. The motion submitted Thursday by
the grand jury to Judge Kosach for release of the full
text of Elliott's letter and attachments was signed by
Ms. Cortez.
Elliott's original letter, with
attachments
Response signed by Hanson
§
§ §
|